Many of the world's most successful businesses are family owned. With this comes the threat of family bust-ups, sibling rivalry and petty jealousies.

Family Wars takes you behind the scenes on a rollercoaster ride through the ups and downs of some of the biggest family-run companies in the world, showing how family in-fighting has threatened to bring about their downfall. Whether it's the Redstone's courtroom battles or the feud over Henry Ford's reluctance to let go of the reigns, the book reveals the origins, the extent and the final resolution of some of the most famous family feuds in recent history. Names you'll recognise include: the Gallo Family; the Guinness story; the Pathak family; and the Gucci family.

An astonishing exposé of the way families do business and how arguments can threaten to blow a business apart, Family Wars also offers valuable advice on how such problems can be contained and solved.

Grant Gordon is the Director General of the Institute for Family Business and a fifth generation member and former senior executive of a leading UK family business in the drinks sector.

Nigel Nicholson is Professor of Organizational Behaviour at London Business School and a leading writer, executive educator and broadcaster on business and management.

• • Chapter - 01: Family wars;
  • Chapter - 02: The ideas: The roots offamily warfare;
  • Chapter - 03: Brothers at arms;
  • Chapter - 04: Fighting for the crown;
  • Chapter - 05: The house that hubris built;
  • Chapter - 06: Heads in the sand - the insularity trap;
  • Chapter - 07: Schism - the house divided;
  • Chapter - 08: Un-civil war;
  • Chapter - 09: The lessons - the price of war and the prize of peace